Killer of 12-year-old Leo Ross named
Just nowPhil Mackie,Midlands CorrespondentandAida Fofana,West Midlands
FamilyThe killer of 12-year-old schoolboy Leo Ross has been named after a court order protecting his anonymity was lifted.
Kian Moulton, who was 14 at the time of the attack, stabbed Leo in the stomach while he was walking home from school in Birmingham in January 2025.
Moulton, now aged 15, was sentenced to a minimum term of 13 years at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, having pleaded guilty to murder last month.
He also admitted a string of other offences after he attacked three elderly women in the days leading up to the killing, with two of them suffering severe injuries.
Birmingham Crown Court heard the defendant was “a young man with formidable mental health problems” but knew and was aware of the consequences of his actions.
Judge Mr Justice Choudhury KC said Moulton chose Leo because he was a smaller boy.
He added that after the attack, the teenager had cycled around Trittiford Mill Park telling people a boy had been stabbed.
Moulton returned to the scene to observe what happened after he stabbed Leo and even spoke with police officers there.
The defendant appeared to get “pleasure from seeing the consequences” of his actions”, the judge said.
The teenager also pleaded guilty to two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, over the three separate attacks on elderly women.
The 15-year-old was given a life sentence but told he would be eligible for parole after 13 years, and would remain on licence for life.
Det Insp Joe Davenport said there was no indication Leo and his killer knew each other, so it had been a “totally random attack”.
He described the killer as a “truly dangerous individual”, saying: “We will likely never know why he decided to attack Leo, who was completely innocent.
“From our investigation, it seemed he liked to cause violence before calling the police and watching the chaos he had caused.”
Why is Kian Moulton being named now?
Decisions to lift reporting restrictions when under 18s are sentenced are never taken lightly.
Lengthy discussions took place in court on Tuesday ahead of the sentencing. Applications were made by Birmingham Live, the Daily Mail and the BBC, and were supported by other news organisations.
Mr Justice Choudhury said he believed there was a strong public interest in this case and that outweighed arguments made by Moulton’s lawyers to protect his identity.
The escalation of the teenager’s offending played a part in his decision, he said, adding that by the time of his third attack on a vulnerable elderly woman, a pattern had been established.
The judge also said public concern about knife crime played a factor in his decision.
Moulton had shown no obvious sign of remorse, nor had he shown any positive signs of rehabilitation since he’d been detained.
Asked about this by the judge, Alistair Webster KC, told the court that it had been “one step forwards and two steps back”.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Moulton showed little emotion.
He had grown a lot since his first appearance at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court a year ago.
He sat mostly with his head slightly bowed. The only exception came when Christopher Ross, Leo’s father, addressed him directly as he began reading his victim impact statement, and said “look up man, you killed my son”.
Amy Weston, a member of Leo’s foster family, also addressed the defendant and said: “Leo was a small defenceless child, as vulnerable as they come. It was sickening.
“What you did was wicked, senseless and unforgivable.”
Tim Boyes was the acting head at Leo’s school Christ Church C of E Secondary Academy and said he remembered Leo as “a quirky, lovable, bright, unusual little boy”.
“For a 12-year-old, he was quite young and he had a naivety and simplicity,” he said.
Boyes said unlike many boys his age who were into football, Leo was “passionate about fossils”.
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